BlackBerry Ltd chair Barbara Stymiest re-elected to board

BlackBerry Ltd. chairwoman Barbara Stymiest was re-elected to the technology company’s board this week, but she did not get the ringing endorsement her fellow nominees did.

At the smartphone maker’s annual general meeting, Ms. Stymiest received the lowest percentage of for votes among the nine directors at 81%, while 18% withheld their vote, according to the results from the July 9 meeting in Waterloo, Ont.

The eight other nominees, including BlackBerry chief executive Thorsten Heins and Fairfax Financial Holdings Ltd. founder Prem Watsa, received between 97% and 99% for votes.

Tuesday’s vote came after a tough year for the embattled tech firm, which posted a money-losing first quarter on June 28 that fell short of expectations.

Related

A new line of smartphones powered by the long-awaited BlackBerry 10 operating system generated a surprising profit in the first three months of the year. But by the second quarter, the tech firm posted an adjusted net loss of US$67-million.

BlackBerry said it sold 6.8 million smartphones during that same quarter, below anticipated sales of more than seven million units.

BlackBerry’s journey of transformation touted a year earlier appeared to be moving slower than expected, leaving Mr. Heins to ask shareholders for more patience at Tuesday’s annual general meeting.

The latest financial results and lacklustre response to the new touchscreen Z10 and Q10 have left analysts skeptical of BlackBerry’s chances of re-establishing itself as a major smartphone player.

Ms. Stymiest was named BlackBerry’s new chairwoman on Jan. 22 last year — replacing co-chairman and co-chief executive tandem of Mike Lazaridis and Jim Balsillie — after investors campaigned for an overhaul of the board amid criticism for being ineffective.

She has served as a director of the Waterloo-based company since 2007, and has held positions as CEO at TSX Group Inc., executive vice president and chief financial officer at BMO Nesbitt Burns, and partner of Ernst & Young LLP.